Shakib Al Hasan being named the ODI captain for the upcoming Asia Cup and World Cup didn’t come as a surprise. What did come as a surprise was how the news was shared.
The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) president, Nazmul Hassan, announced the name of the ODI captain in an unusual way, putting an end to all rumors. So, for a while, a lot of the media didn’t know if the secret press conference, which seemed to have happened on Friday at the garage of the board president, had actually happened.
Later, it came out that some media outlets had gotten the information from the board head on Friday afternoon. Some BCB officers were also confused when they were asked what was going on at the time.
As of now, Shakib is the leader for Bangladesh in all three forms, and he will lead the Tigers in the World Cup, even though Hassan said that talks have not been very in-depth. The head of the BCB said that the all-rounder Shakib was chosen as captain because he was a senior star and could handle pressure.
“Shakib Al Hasan will be the manager for both the World Cup and the Asia Cup. But we haven’t talked with Shakib about long-term plans for management. We will do that when he gets back to the country. We both need to know what our long-term goals are. Actually, being captain in three different forms will be hard on him, too,” Hassan said yesterday, implying that they would talk about Shakib’s T20I and Test management once the all-rounder returned from the Lanka Premier League.
The BCB president said again that they will talk about whether he wants to be captain in all three formats, whether he wants to be in charge for a short or long time, or whether he wants to step down as captain of one format and focus on the other two.
This would be Shakib’s second time as captain. From 2009 to 2011, he was captain for the first time. He has also served on and off since then. He was captain for three games, the most recent of which was against Ireland in 2017.
Hassan said that after Tamim Iqbal stepped down on August 3, they were in a dangerous situation.
“Because there was so little time left before the Asia Cup and the World Cup, I thought Shakib was the clear pick.
“I’ve heard that many people say there wasn’t enough planning or something. How could we make a plan? Who will leave and when, and will they come back? Can anyone plan ahead for that?”
The World Cup is a big game, so the board couldn’t think of anyone else but Shakib.
“The pressure of the World Cup is different from the pressure of a two-game series. Shakib is the only one who can handle that kind of stress,” he said.
Hassan was sure that Shakib was serious about the goals coming up, despite his earlier doubts.
“There is no question about his ability. I’m glad that I had questions about Shakib, because that’s something that’s made me feel good in the last year. I’m the only one who knows how serious he is and what games he will or won’t play. Now I see that no one cares more about cricket than he does.”